Tutorial
How to create a zombie mouth
Throughout my research there were many new and interesting techniques I discovered. I decided to put my skills to the test and create this look.
* Brushes pictured are ALL cleaned thoroughly, however they are stained from frequent use. These brushes are only ever for personal use. Any brushes used on clients MUST be cleaned thoroughly and clear from staining to ensure 100% saftey.
Tools Needed:
- A mirror (to see what you're doing)
- Spirit gum
- A makeup spatula and palette
- Synthetic wax (skin coloured)
- Synthetic wax (pink - i created the pink colour myself by mixing fake blood with the skin coloured wax)
- Fake Blood (I use stage blood as it does not dry and creates a more realistic effect, however any blood will work perfectly)
- Eye makeup remover
- Cotton rounds
- Fake acrylic teeth
- Make up brushes in various sizes*
- Eye shadow in neutral tones (However you can also get some red, pink and purple eye shadow if it is more accessible than face paint)
- Water activated face paint (red, white, black, brown, blue and yellow)
- Water (using a spray bottle for this makes the process a lot easier)
​
Optional:
- Alcohol activated paint
- Isopropyl alcohol
- A teaspoon (this seems rather left-field but I promise you it is a MASSIVE help)
- White out contact lenses
- A stippling sponge
​
​
**You can find links to any products I have used for this look at the bottom of the page
Step 1:
Start off by ensuring the face is completely clean from any product and dry. Pin all hair back from the face. Dig out some skin coloured synthetic wax from the container (the spoon is SO handy for this) and begin to warm up the wax with your hands. Roll out two tubes of wax about half a centimetre in width and the length of your lips. If you find the wax is sticking to your hands apply some eye makeup remover to them, this should help the wax stop sticking. Once you have two tubes rest them on the palette.
Step 2:
Apply the spirit gum around the lips. Pat this down with the makeup spatula until the gum becomes tacky. Then take your tubes of wax and stick them to the spirit gum firmly. Once stuck down apply some eye makeup remover to your fingers and begin smoothing out the wax until it blends in with the surrounding skin. You should be left with something similar to the image on the right.
Step 3:
When you are happy with the smoothness of the wax take your acrylic teeth (they should be in little groups depending on the tooth type and where in the mouth they are located) and apply a generous amount of spirit gum to them before once again patting the gum with the spatula to ensure that it is tacky. Stick each individual tooth onto the wax in the order they would appear in the mouth and press firmly to ensure they stick. Remember zombies do not go to dentists so if they come out looking a little crooked that's fine!
Step 4:
Return to your wax and create some very thin tubes that almost seem string-like. Apply these to the roots of the teeth. Blend these out to create a gum line and make the teeth blend in more seamlessly with the rest of the wax, (I have already done this step completely with the bottom teeth in the picture). The spatula works a lot better in this step due to the fact that its very thin and can create more precise blending.
Step 5:
Unfortunately I did not take a picture of this step and I have no idea why, however it's extremely easy (the hard part is already done!) Take your pink synthetic wax and start applying it above and below the teeth and the surrounding mouth area. blend out the wax with your fingers and then create some lines on it using your spatula. These lines can be wherever you want, it just adds texture making the pink wax appear to look like muscle. You can see an idea of this in the picture associated with step 6.
Step 6:
Once again return to your skin coloured wax. Create multiple flat circles and ovals with it and proceed to rip the edges of one side before sticking the oval/circle to your face around the pink wax and blending to fit with the rest of the skin. Once complete it should appear as if the skin has been forcibly ripped from around the mouth. After I did this I took my white water activated paint and painted my face and neck with it to appear dead (I didn't need that much because I am extremely pale anyway so you may need more than I did it's completely up to your own preference. I also added some brown eye shadow around the eyes to make it look as though I hadn't slept and on the face to make it appear dirty. I actually added more under the eyes at the end of the look, how much you use is once again your own preference.
Step 7:
I once again went in with my skin tone wax and added in a few little balls of it. I did this to ensure I could add pockets of colour to make the wound look slightly infected at a later stage. I then took my alcohol activated paint in blood tone (you can use your water activated paint of course) and painted the inside edges of the "ripped skin" I had just created. I added a few coats here and pooled the paint in different areas to make it more realistic. Be aware here that if you are using alcohol activated paint the smell is extremely strong especially when working around the nose, It may be handy to keep some tissues on hand just in case your eyes/nose get irritated.
Step 8:
For this step I went in with my yellow activated paint and painted the white spots in the 'muscle' area to make the wound appear infected. I also added some yellow to the teeth and then wiped it off to attempt to create a stained look. If I did this look again I would 100% add some more yellow and probably some other red and pink tones to the pink wax to create more variety of colour within the look and make the wound more realistic.
Step 9:
At this point what you do is almost entirely up to you for a few steps you may opt-out of having any colour surrounding the wound and just add a few shadows, or even nothing and that's absolutely fine! For this step I used my alcohol activated paint in bruise tone and dabbed it around the wound. You can also go as crazy as you want with this step but keep in mind that alcohol activated paint should not be used near the eyes (a good rule of thumb is gently feeling for the bone surrounding your eye and avoiding that area completely.)
Step 10:
This step is basically a continuation of step 9. I added paint in red, pink and yellow tones to deepen the colour surrounding the wound and along with this added more paint to the teeth to make them appear very stained and old. I also dipped my stippling sponge in alcohol and stippled along the paint to make the strength of the colour more varied.
Step 11:
Before you begin with the fake blood mix together some red, black and brown water activated paint and mix them together until you get a blood colour. using a thin brush gently brush the colour on to any part showing behind the teeth. After this get ready to get messy! Take some fake blood on a brush and place it wherever you feel necessary along the wound. Keep in mind to not completely cover up the work you have been doing with the blood though. I also used my stippling sponge and stippled some blood along my skin for a splattered effect and used the blood on my hands to make my chest look beaten and dirty. I later added fake blood to my forehead also.
Step 12:
This last step is completely optional. It depends solely on how comfortable you are using contacts. Ensure you thoroughly clean your hands before this step for safety purposes as you are working with the eyeball which is extremely sensitive. Apply a white out contact to your eye. You can do two if you wish however these contacts make it impossible to see out of your eye so I wouldn't recommend that for anything more than pictures for safety reasons.
The Finished Look:
Where to buy products I used:
None of the products listed are my own creation or brand and I have no association with any companies, brands or stores mentioned other thank using their products.
Spirit Gum: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mehron-118AR-Spirit-Glue-Remover/dp/B0040ZEHPK/ref=sr_1_13?crid=EY4MMJXPVF95&dchild=1&keywords=spirit+gum&qid=1583477902&sprefix=spirit+gum%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-13
Spatula and Palette: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01IMXEIEU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Synthetic Wax (skin): https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MPOJJ3I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Fake Blood: https://www.amazon.co.uk/mehron-Mehron-Stage-Blood-1oz/dp/B01N8X28UG/ref=pd_sbs_14_2/258-8493001-7346965?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01N8X28UG&pd_rd_r=b1364821-eb4d-4dcc-b80e-7fabf7032f20&pd_rd_w=SxtEo&pd_rd_wg=fOAE8&pf_rd_p=96cae456-8d7a-4bc1-91c7-9b20b4dfd7c9&pf_rd_r=GB3HGCPYBZRQTA5R8EQ2&psc=1&refRID=GB3HGCPYBZRQTA5R8EQ2
Eye Makeup Remover: https://www.boots.com/nivea-daily-essentials-double-effect-eye-make-up-remover-125ml-10183085
Cotton Rounds: https://www.boots.com/boots-baby-pads-extra-large-60s-10261254
Acrylic Teeth: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WT815CB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Brushes: https://www.boots.com/morphe-vacay-mode-12-piece-brush-collection-and-case-10271066
Neutral Eye Shadow: https://www.boots.com/sleek-makeup-i-divine-eyeshadow-palette-original-10164659
Water Activated Paint: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FGAET6A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Alcohol Activated Paint: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B077D9ZJ5M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Isopropyl Alcohol: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B77QTGO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Contact Lenses: https://www.colouredcontacts.com/gb/view-all/1023888-1-day-white-blind-coloured-contact-lenses.html?search_query=white+&results=62
Stippling Sponge: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beaupretty-Stipple-Sponges-Halloween-Special/dp/B07X1HWXKB/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=2E6ZG1BR70M6J&keywords=stipple+sponge&qid=1583477861&sprefix=stipp%2Caps%2C296&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExNUU0VE9XOEUyRlNOJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDcxMTA4VThDUkk2OVRENDY4JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA4NDMzMzAzVUNOOVE2VEJDWjBEJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==